Orion said today that it plans to sell its Orion Diagnostica division to an investment fund managed by Axcel Management for $200 million.
The Finland-based company said its diagnostic unit operates independently from its pharmaceutical business and that the two groups have “material business synergies.”
“The sale of the division will allow us to further focus on growth and achieving our financial goals. Orion is currently working on numerous projects that target growth in our core area of the pharmaceuticals business. For example, we are actively evaluating late stage in-licensing opportunities. We also continue to invest in our own research and development activities, with new clinical trials, for example. The capital gain from the transaction will strengthen our equity position and maintain our ability to achieve our dividend distribution objective,” president & CEO Timo Lappalainen said in prepared remarks.
“Together with Orion Diagnostica’s management and employees, we intend to further develop the company into an even stronger operator in the global diagnostics market. On the back of an attractive customer proposition and a strong market position, we see great opportunity to grow Orion Diagnostica further both geographically and by expanding its product offering,” Thomas Blomqvist, partner at Axcel, added.
